The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for modifying a set of instructions based on bootstrapped knowledge acquisition from natural language content.
When reading through natural language content, such as recipes from a cooking domain, real-world common sense knowledge provides constraints on an ingredient and the actions to be performed on the ingredient. For example, it is common sense that cottage cheese cannot be grated. However, in the absence of such common sense, it is difficult to learn such knowledge from simply reading a recipe. Further, when asked to produce a recipe for a particular dish, not being aware of the various actions that can be performed on an ingredient can produce nonsensical results. For example, when requested to produce a recipe for a cheese fondue from a round wheel of cheese, one may cut, slice, grate, or melt the cheese, but one may not pour the cheese until after the cheese has first been sliced and then melted.
Recently, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., has released an intelligent cooking recipe application referred to as IBM Chef Watson™. IBM Chef Watson™ searches for patterns in existing recipes and combines them with an extensive database of scientific (e.g., molecular underpinnings of flavor compounds) and cooking related information (e.g., what ingredients go into different dishes) with regard to food pairings to generate ideas for unexpected combinations of ingredients. In processing the database, IBM Chef Watson™ learns how specific cuisines favor certain ingredients and what ingredients traditionally go together, such as tomatoes and basil. The application allows a user to identify ingredients that the user wishes to include in the recipe, ingredients that the user wishes to exclude, as well as specify the meal time (breakfast, lunch, dinner), course (appetizer, main, dessert), and the like.
The IBM Chef Watson™ has inspired the creation of an IBM Chef Watson™ food truck, a cookbook entitled Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson, Sourcebooks, Apr. 14, 2015, and various recipes including a barbecue sauce referred to as Bengali Butternut BBQ Sauce.